Why do electric cars suck in cold weather?

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In hindsight, it’s not surprising the Mitsubishi MiEV EV I drove barely made it to 50 miles rather than its rated 62 miles (100 km). It was a dark and chilly if not stormy early December night and that killed the range. When you drive an EV, “your mileage may vary” includes cold weather as well as hard acceleration and late braking. As temperatures dip below freezing, you could lose 25% of your electric vehicle’s precious range. Batteries are less efficient in cold weather, they don’t regenerate as well, and electric heating for the cabin, seats, and windows drains your range, too.

The same thing happened when I drove a Tesla Model S. With the 85 kWh battery, the Tesla is good for around 250 miles. During the afternoon with temperatures above freezing, the discharge rate indicated I wasn’t far off from that kind of efficiency. Driving at night as temperatures fell into the 20s (0C to -5C), I found the range fell noticeably faster than the distance gauge suggested at the start of the trip.

None of this should be surprising. The 12-volt batteries on mainstream cars are prone to failure in the first cold weeks of winter. A battery is a chemical reaction that gives off electrons, or power. When it’s cold, the reaction slows down in both directions, discharging and charging. See, there was a reason to pay attention in chemistry class. You can keep a chemical reaction going by applying heat, which is one way to get more energy out of a battery — but that can be a complex equation, if the energy to heat the battery comes from the battery itself.

How cold weather affects EV range

A cold battery is not as receptive to regeneration. Trying to charge at the same rate that’s possible during warm weather can shorten the battery’s life. The Nissan Leaf uses an electric heater to keep the battery warm; the energy comes from the battery, although the energy expended to heat the battery is outweighed by the additional power that becomes available. Tesla uses waste heat generated by the electric motor. It’s efficient once there’s waste heat available but that takes time.

There’s even more drain from cockpit-warming: using electric heat in the cabin, on the seats, and defrosting the front and bind windshields. Combustion engine cars give off enough waste heat to quickly warm the cockpit without hurting range. In both the MiEV and Tesla, as I saw range dropping, I dialed back the heat and put on a parka and gloves.

Researchers are looking into different battery electrolytes that would be conducive to quick charging without compromising conductivity. EV makers could also make thicker, less conductive window glass and better insulate the car. Both would also reduce road noise.

How to maximize the range of your EV

If you have a garage, park your EV there since it’s warmer than outside. Arrange charging to continue until you’re ready to leave. Use the preheat functions while the car is still connected to the charger; most EVs offer that as a feature of their smartphone apps.

If you can stand it, turn off the heat while driving, or dial it back. A fleece jacket and thin gloves are your friends. Even the infotainment system draws power and I’ve been in EVs that wanted to power down the head unit to conserve power. With its small battery pack, the MiEV was especially susceptible to the cold.

Cold weather is also the reason to consider ordering the extended range battery pack, even if it adds $10,000 or more to the price of your EV. Better you get nicked once by the price and enjoy longer driving distances than you remember all the little compromises made regularly to keep your EV going.

The problem of cold cars has existed for years. Air-cooled Volkswagens and Porsches took longer to heat the cabin than cars with water-cooled engines. The air-cooled cars used a heat exchanger wrapped around the exhaust pipe. Heat took a long time to arrive and when the heat exchangers weren’t perfectly sealed, the smell of exhaust gas and burning engine oil might invade the cockpit.

Tagged In

So looks like you only have data for the Volt? According to your chart, on average, the difference in range from a 20*C day and a -5*C day is about 50%… that’s pretty significant in my view. But really we’re only talking about 20 miles, which is not a huge distance. I’d like to see the data on the Model S.

That is true what you said about air-cooled vehicles, but my old VW bus would get so hot inside that on one trip home during Christmas I actually had to strip down to my boxers while driving – and it was snowing outside.

Bill Howard

TMI

VirtualMark

This article just tells me that electric vehicles are still a long way off being practical for most people. The ranges sound terrible, and the fact that the miles remaining is wildly inaccurate puts me off these vehicles. Maybe in a few years time….

Jesse Gomez

Are you kidding me? If they weren’t practical then people wouldn’t buy them. Not only that, but the battery issue is a non-issue to most of the world because most of the world experiences temperatures above 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only that but a car with a range of 250 miles per charge is good enough for most. Not everyone drives more than 100 miles a day.

VirtualMark

“In hindsight, it’s not surprising the Mitsubishi MiEV EV I drove barely made it to 50 miles rather than its rated 62 miles”

Oh – and read my comment properly, idiot.

Mart Shearer

Most people’s daily commute is around 40 miles round trip in the US. Plug up when you get home, and it’s not impractical for what it’s designed to do.

VirtualMark

Stop at the shops, go to the cinema, meet a friend etc, it all adds up. If you don’t understand this, my suggestion would be to go out once in a while, cars are handy for that.

Mart Shearer

I do understand that. Not all of us live 30 miles from work. My wife’s job is 2.5 miles from the house. My two sons jobs are closer. Go to work, take some co-worker to lunch, back to work, come home, go to a restaurant, the grocery, and back home–all less than a 50 mile trip. Weekends we even go shopping and to movies–shocking, I know.
Sometimes we take trips to visit family in neighboring states, so we take the ’03 Prius. Like the majority of American households we own multiple cars. Also like the majority of American households, we are unable to afford a Tesla Model S. Perhaps they’ll get battery costs down and fast charge networks are already planned so we can make the distance trip within a decade using electricity.

daremo2009

Obviously you live in a large metro areas somewhere…. Try living on the central coast of CA, or in other areas of the country where its 15 miles to the nearest store nevermind a mall. Moral of the story here is, rechargeable batteries do not work well in cold temperatures and its unlikely to change in the near future without a revolution in battery design.

I live in RI and I still commute 32 miles to work, plus have to do other things. A 100 mile range that is cut to 50-60 miles in cold weather is not a very big comfort margin,

daremo2009

Obviously you live in a large metro areas somewhere…. Try living on the central coast of CA, or in other areas of the country where its 15 miles to the nearest store nevermind a mall. Moral of the story here is, rechargeable batteries do not work well in cold temperatures and its unlikely to change in the near future without a revolution in battery design.

I live in RI and I still commute 32 miles to work, plus have to do other things. A 100 mile range that is cut to 50-60 miles in cold weather is not a very big comfort margin,

Mart Shearer

I don’t know if I’d call Jackson, Mississippi a “large metro area”. I could move to a suburb and add 20-30 miles to the daily commute. Or I could move to our land 40 miles out in the country and commute daily from there. “You pays your money and you takes your choice”, as the saying goes.

Practicality varies from individual to individual. A Mitubishi I-MiEV is practical for many, but is quite impractical for the family hauling 5 children to soccer practice, or the man towing his boat, or the man commuting 60 miles a day in sub-freezing weather on the interstate. Playing statistics, a 50 mile range covers most Americans daily commute, and since most American households have multiple cars, the I-MiEV is practical for most of them. People don’t choose vehicles based solely on practicality, though…

Better range on electric drive is desirable, as is lower pricing. For now, Mitsubishi has determined that cutting $6k from the price of the I-MiEV is of greater importance to potential customers than increasing range at the same price. Tesla has taken the opposite approach, dropping the more limited range Model S from production, but not dropping the price.

Mart Shearer

I don’t know if I’d call Jackson, Mississippi a “large metro area”. I could move to a suburb and add 20-30 miles to the daily commute. Or I could move to our land 40 miles out in the country and commute daily from there. “You pays your money and you takes your choice”, as the saying goes.

Practicality varies from individual to individual. A Mitubishi I-MiEV is practical for many, but is quite impractical for the family hauling 5 children to soccer practice, or the man towing his boat, or the man commuting 60 miles a day in sub-freezing weather on the interstate. Playing statistics, a 50 mile range covers most Americans daily commute, and since most American households have multiple cars, the I-MiEV is practical for most of them. People don’t choose vehicles based solely on practicality, though…

Better range on electric drive is desirable, as is lower pricing. For now, Mitsubishi has determined that cutting $6k from the price of the I-MiEV is of greater importance to potential customers than increasing range at the same price. Tesla has taken the opposite approach, dropping the more limited range Model S from production, but not dropping the price.

John

The majority of people in the US live in large metro areas (more than half the US population lives in metro areas of 1 million people or more). You are right that EVs don’t work for a ton of people, but they do work for “most” meaning more than half. I mean, come on, 10% of the entire US population lives in either NY or LA metro area! No one is saying everyone should go out and buy one.

Ray Erker

Yeah, If you got a few hours to wait for a recharge. Most people get pissed off waiting 5 minutes at the cashier in Walmart.

Ray Erker

Except for paying the electricity bill, and $2,000.00 for the charging station. Plus where do you think all these batteries go after they are wore out in 5 years. A replacement battery is in the thousands. Not very environmentally friendly, and totally useless for about 1/3 of the USA, and ALL of Canada, as well as Russia, and many other countries which have colder temps. Waste of money. On top of that many people drive much more than 50 miles each way to work. If you want to go on vacation, you will need a “Real” car. Which also means, now you have to have twice as much insurance.

Damon

I agree, But the HFC (hydrogen fuel cell) cars coming out in the next 2-3 years are VERY interesting and the only real drawback still is filling station locations. Mileage per unit of fuel is similar, fuel costs are less than gas, Ranger per fueling is equal to or more than gas,Hydrogen fuel is renewable, emissions are zero, and with every major manufacturer having one in the works for commercial production in the next few years, getting hydrogen filling stations where they are needed wont take as long as haveing a couple of ‘plug-ins’. Oh, and the additional cost is small in comparison to EV vs gas. I really think HFC cars can prevail where EV is still an experiment more than reality

VirtualMark

Yeah this certainly sounds interesting. There’s also potential for future battery technologies that I’ve read about on here, with faster charging and more storage.

John

and switching out your battery in 1.5 minutes, as Tesla is planning to unveil robot automated “battery swap” in a few months at one or two Selected CA Tesla stations.

Bill Howard

To be fair, the distance-remaining level did adapt. Perhaps we’ll see more sophisticated algorithms, for instance taking into account weather & temps along the route if you’re driving. If the car knows the final destination via navigation, maybe it gives you a confidence indicator that you’ll make it. Tesla SuperCharger stations, the holy grail of charging, are few and far between in the Northeast today, but there still are 220V chargers and they can top you off. No question EVs are in their infancy. But the potential for efficiency vs. gasoline / diesel is so high.

VirtualMark

Certainly, and I’m not arguing against the potential. I think electric cars are the future, I just feel that they’re not very practical for most people at the moment. Hopefully things will improve in the next few years, I’ll certainly make the switch when the time is right.

Bill Howard

Not practical for most of the US land mass. But in California especially with the charging stations, it starts to make sense and it makes a whole lot more sense when this isn’t your only car. People buying a Tesla now are showing off (a little bit), helping underwrite the future, and also helping themselves (the HOV lane access).

go2gym

Buying an EV for purposes of saving money vs gas is a fool’s errand. Buying it due to the hoax of global warming is as well. But buying it because you want to be cleaner, ok, that has a least some logic to it, provided you only look at what the car itself emits. Just don’t look at where that charge is actually coming from, the battery composition and destination at end of life, etc.

If you’re buying it because money isn’t an object and you simply like the electric vehicle paradigm, you’re set. Enjoy the drive.

sandy222

What evidence do you need? Global warming is a hoax? And I am a unicorn.

Justin

The Tesla Model S I could at least argue has 400 hp/tq instantly, fantastic handling due to low center of gravity, and enough range to handle all of my errands.

People buy cars for a variety of reasons, but I agree, EV does not give you the best value in going from point A to point B, yet. The best value is probably an old used honda or VW diesel.

Mark Renburke

Hate to break it to you, but the 5 year total cost of ownership of a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt is thousands of $ less (like ~$3000-$5000) than almost every low end “economy” gasoline car due to their long term fuel and maintenance costs. Look it up. Buying Honda, Hyundai, or Toyota econobox rather than a Volt or Leaf is the true fool’s errand.

SirGCal

This is basic electronics stuff they knew about when building the cars. Being a EE myself, it’s one reason ‘all electric’ never impressed me very much. Although some of the vehicles put the batteries in the heated area of the car to make them more efficient, but then you need special batteries that don’t off-gas in the closed environment. Vicious circle.

This is why I can’t believe there isn’t a Diesel Hybrid out there. Far more efficent as generators anyhow, it would make by far the most sense. I want a diesel commuter myself for now but with my wheelchair I need a truck or van and those diesels are workhorses which defeat the benefit. There are plenty of diesel commuters though, but I’m still surprised someone hasn’t tied it to a hybrid system yet. They are just electric vehicles with fueled generators to refill the batteries anyhow.

Bill Howard

A diesel hybrid would be the best of worlds except for the price. You’ve got two added costs. That said, Renault is working on a diesel hybrid project.

sandy222

Diesel, last I checked, is a FOSSIL fuel.

Jeff Vahrenkamp

so are coal and natural gas, which are used to produce 90% of the electricity that you use to charge an EV.

sandy222

No, I use solar, thank you. And where I am 45% of electricity is generated from renewables.

Bill Howard

Hard to argue with that.

jburt56

Ultracapacitors!!!

Marble Shark

I can’t believe there are idiots out there who actually drive these vehicles. THE TECHNOLOGY IS NOT READY. Unless you can top up in the same time it takes to fill a petrol tank, and at as many places, it fails miserably. Early adopters will be punished for their stupidity!

Todd Sievers

Not really, I’m happy to drive to work and let it recharge there. Or let it recharge overnight at home. You’ve got to realize you have a gas station in your garage.

Anton Newcombe

The gas station in your garage doesn’t do you much good if you have to go away from home does it?

wildisreal

Filling up once a day is plenty. Frankly, the concern over remote charging infrastructure is totally overblown and just a reflection of our current paradigm.

If you could fill up with a gas pump in your garage every night, would you ever even go to the station? Of course not. This is the EV owner’s reality.

sandy222

I’m proud to be both “stupid” and an “idiot” in your opinion.
What you really mean is our actions are as such, not us, but thanks for the insults. Oil troll?
They are more than ready, and your comment speaks volumes. If you;d actually DRIVEN a Model S, you would not make such an inaccurate comment.
Battery swapping is faster than filling the tank. In time.
Please! Where’s my punishment? 400% increase in my stock? Love it.

Anton Newcombe

So you bought the car because of the stock price? That could go down real quick. There is no battery swapping, Tesla is lying about that outright to get the maximum amount of subsidies. The demonstration they did was a stunt.

sandy222

You really over analyzed my comment.
I got the car because I drove and it love(d) it. The stock is merely icing. A lot could happen.
1/2 hour is fine for me while I enjoy a light meal with my friends.
No lie.

Anton Newcombe

Multiply that half hour by every time you need to recharge and you are giving up a good part of your life waiting around for your car to charge. I don’t always have friends around to chat with, my days are a little unpredictable that way.

sandy222

Not need. Not every time! 1% of the time. I charge at night.
Just like you do your mobile.
Sorry you don’t have friends. Might explain some of your rationale? Now go enjoy your imaginary friends, troll. Out.

Anton Newcombe

Sometimes I do things that involve staying away from home, its called travel. If I want to head up north into the beautiful outdoors I don’t want to fret about not having a charger nearby. But that’s just me. You paid more for an inferior product whose resale will suck.

wildisreal

This is a 1% of the time concern for most people and basically all EV owners have a gas car back-up right now for exactly this circumstance. When 99% of the miles travelled are EV then the free market will create a solution for this circumstance as well.

Justin

Early adopters are being rewarded with massive gains in stock value in one of the biggest growth industries.

SteveO

2 thoughts:
1) gas engines also suffer a 10-20% decline in efficiency (and range) during the cold, anyone who cares to measure this can. But most of us don’t notice because range is long enough, and fast refueling is readily available.

2) “heating the cabin” stresses EVs more because their engines are more efficient (usually 80% or better) and any additional load is noticeable. Huh?

Explanation of 2): gas engines are typically about 35% efficient. In other words, all year round, gas engines produce lots of wasted heat and noise. In the winter, that wasted heat is simply routed to the cabin, and creates no additional load on the engine and fuel system.

Thus gas engine suffer less to produce cabin heat, but only because they are already wasting more than half their energy. Hardly seems like a plus. heh?

Bill Howard

When you put it that way, sure. But the world is bigger than people who log on to GreenCargasm.com daily. With a combustion engine car, the heat’s there for the asking and your mileage doesn’t suffer from keeping yourself warm. With an electric vehicle, the basic human comfort of warmth subtracts from how far you can travel. Someday we’ll all use solar to power our cars. Just not today.

SteveO

No, not today, for most of us. But five years ago EVs were only for technically proficient tinkerers… that’s already changed. Today, every day, very ordinary people purchase EVs. Those EV purchase numbers will keep rising as more people learn that even a 60 mile range between charges is less stressful than driving a gas engine with its maintenance intensive inefficiency.

Disqus

The headline could also say – Why do gasoline cars suck in cold weather?
You could start with the fact that cold air is 15% more dense than warm air, so all cars get at least 15% worse mileage. Using real world data add that most real drivers don’t check their tire pressure and adjust it properly in winter. Add another 10% loss for that.

VirtualMark

That’s interesting – the denser air would increase drag. But with cooler denser air you also get more power out of the engine, I wonder how much it offsets the increased drag.

Justin

It’s noticeable, I’ve been documenting my fuel consumption for the last few years at fuelly.com. My Chevy Aveo typically gets 8mpg worse fuel economy in the winter when compared to summer.

Bill Howard

Factors in mileage include internal friction losses (the engine and drivetrain), road wheel friction with the road, and air resistance. Plus as you note, dumb things drivers don’t do like check tire pressure, or adjust dragging brakes. Conversely, some people claim that denser air (or humid air in rainstorms) has the potential for more energy, or so they say.

ziffster

i don’t get it bill, why not just use that “Graphene aerogel” thats been on your front page for ever around the battery pack and cabin with a micro generic wind turbine and a few super cap’s in the car shell to heat a simple tungsten element for savior low temps

Anton Newcombe

I’ll keep my IC car thanks. I don’t have to bundle up inside the vehicle and I can go anywhere I want. It’s far cheaper to boot. If gas goes up to 10 bucks per gallon I am sure EV’s will begin to take off. Until then there is zero rationale for them.

wow, i was completely unknown from these points of – Why do electric cars suck in cold weather. i got some awesome knowledge from this article. thanks Bill….!!

Aijaz Hussain

A dream for South East Asia..wow fantastic…but we have no electricity even to charge…16 hrs loadshedding…another wow

Marylandbob

Except for the purchase PRICE, a Tesla model S would meet at least 90% of my automotive needs! I live in a large urban area, near Washington, D.C. And it is very seldom that I travel more than 100 miles in a day, so its range of up to 300 miles, is still very adequate, even in wintertime if reduced by cold! Unlike some others, the TESLA does have a “Battery Warmer” to minimize range and performance reduction from cold. TESLA also offers FREE ELECTRICITY from its charger network for original buyers of its car, like “Free Gas”! Maintenance and repairs can be anticipated to be much LESS with a good electric car, as there are very few moving parts in its powertrain, relative to a similar internal combustion powered vehicle! ALL moving parts in a typical ELECTRIC motor could be inspected and/or replaced in as little as one hour! I WOULD welcome the use of a HYBRID heating system, perhaps using the small, one pound camp stove type propane cylinders, as an option on electric cars, as a large amount of heat could be quickly obtained, without impacting the battery charge! I foresee electric vehicles taking over, once batteries become more affordable, and REMEMBER THIS: Installing an “Electric Refueling Station” is easier than a combustible fuel, gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, or natural gas refueling station, as there is no SPILLAGE or LEAKAGE problem or associated underground TANKS to worry about! –Admittedly, there may be a time when “On Site” storage of ELECTRICITY becomes popular, if battery technology advances, as this storage on site will enable the purchase of “off peak” electricity, or storage of wind and solar electricity, to be used for vehicle charging whenever needed! At present, I own 2 small, short range electric vehicles, and frequently utilize SOLAR electricity in charging them! I see great future potential in “Solar powered fueling stations!”

John

The article does a poor job pointing out that Gas powered vehicles experience very similar reductions in efficiency in the cold weather! However, we don’t think about this reduced efficiency because it only causes us to fill up a bit more frequently than usual instead of causing us to get stranded by your reduced range. The main point is cold weather makes all vehicles less efficient, only EV owners feel it more due to range anxiety.

Joe Michael Stonebraker

If I have to turn off the heat while driving, I bought the wrong car.

18th street

I see no reason to consider an electric car for the next several years. Too many issues.

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